


One Sweet, One Deadly

by DarkGreiga



Series: Seasonal-Themed [2]
Category: God Eater (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29426466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkGreiga/pseuds/DarkGreiga
Summary: The Far East Branch decided to celebrate Valentine's Day with a small party, though the special day was also celebrated outside the branch itself. As God Eaters, Valentine's Day meant that they would have a mission and the women were specially assigned on a special mission by Alisa.
Relationships: Ciel Alencon/Protagonist (God Eater 2)
Series: Seasonal-Themed [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532135
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	One Sweet, One Deadly

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day everyone! It's already halfway through the day here but the story is finally finished and ready for an upload!
> 
> The main pair here will be the usual MCxCiel, with a slight touch of MCxAlisa. The original idea was a little shorter and the main pair was the other way around... until I decided to 'develop' the story more that it ends up being much longer than my usual one-shots.

The Far East Branch. The home of many talented God Eaters who had been in the frontlines, fighting to protect people against the Aragami threat. One would think that these God Arc wielders only spent most of their lives fighting for the future after they saw the great achievements they had in a rather short span of time.

The truth, however, wasnʼt quite like most regular people think.

The branch was bustling with activities as usual, except most women were absent from the usually packed lounge and lobby. Fran was the only woman present in the lobby as she was helping Teru with operator duties. The lack of females didnʼt bother either of them very much, but it piqued the older operatorʼs curiosity.

“Hey, is it just me or are we lacking the God Eater women today?” Teru asked his colleague as he took a quick scan around the lobby. “I donʼt think theyʼre assigned to any mission today if I donʼt remember it wrong.”

Fran looked up from her monitor, confirming the fact that Teru had pointed out, “It seems to be, but there arenʼt any leave requests for today except for… your brother…”

“Haru?” the operator leaned back on his seat as he asked, but suddenly stood up with a look of realization. “Wait a minute! It’s almost Valentineʼs Day! Thatʼs why Haru is…”

Fran didnʼt react to her colleagueʼs revelation as she looked like she already knew about it. A look of surprise was shown on her face when Teru grabbed her shoulders in panic.

“Take over my shift for a bit, okay? I need to find him quickly before he gets himself in trouble again like the last time!” Teru didnʼt give the blonde a chance to respond as he quickly jumped over the mission counter in front of him and dashed for the elevator.

Fran looked at him in amusement as he walked into the elevator in a rush, confusing the other God Eaters who had emerged from the elevator.

“Oh, is Teru out again before his shift ends?”

The blonde looked back at the counter and saw two familiar faces with paper bags in their arms.

“Hibari, Urara, welcome back,” Fran smiled at the two before she eyed the extra bags they had with them. “Are you finished shopping for the Valentineʼs Day chocolate?”

Urara gave her a nod, “Yes! There should be plenty for everyone to enjoy! This is the least we can do for those who fight to protect us, after all.”

“Thatʼs true,” Hibari nodded in agreement. “Are you going out to buy some too after your shift is over?”

Fran looked over to the direction of the lounge, “Well, I was planning on making some myself with Mutsumi. I havenʼt seen her today, though…”

The other two operators followed her gaze at the lounge as well, seeing people come in and out but the young chef wasnʼt one of those people.

“U-Um… maybe… maybe I know where she might be…” the older operators shifted their attention to their junior, who started looking nervous from the sudden attention. “I-I think I saw her going into Vice-Captainʼs room with Alisa and the rest of the God Eater women this morning…”

“Cielʼs room?” Fran asked before she realized what they were probably up to and smiled. “Perhaps… I will be going to Outer Ghetto to buy some chocolate this year too…”

* * *

“C-Could you please summarize the mission details, Alisa?”

The silver-haired God Eaterʼs unusually shy voice caught the attention of the other women in the room as they filled the vice-captainʼs well-maintained couch. The sudden attention she was suddenly given only made her more and more confused, seeing as she had been stormed by the women since morning for the topic she wasnʼt too familiar with.

“You… don’t know what Valentineʼs Day is…?” The Russian God Eaterʼs surprise grew even more when Ciel gave her a slow nod in response, prompting her to sigh. “This… this going to take even longer than I expected…”

Ciel could feel that everyone in the room was staring at her, much to her discomfort. The vice-captain noticed one of them started moving and it was Mutsumi as she stood up from her seat next to Kanon at the end of the right couch.

“Uh… so why am I called here again?” the young chef asked in confusion. “Is there something you all need my help with?”

Alisa, who was standing in front of the couches, gave her a nod, “Yes. In order to make our mission a success, we need an expert in the kitchen. Thatʼs why Mutsumi is here with us today.”

The women in the room exchanged looks before nodding, finally understanding the reason for the twoʼs presence. The oldest one of the group, however, chuckled as she folded her arms.

“If you need to impress Yuu while he is here for the big day, donʼt you think itʼs enough to just ask one person to help you?” the noirette woman commented, which caused Alisa to blush.

“S-Sakuya!”

Alisa just stood there without being able to respond to the older womanʼs comment. The comment caused the group to laugh, which embarrassed the Russian even more. Ciel, however, wasnʼt completely sure why the others were laughing.

Was there something funny about a friend trying to impress another friend?

“Iʼm guessing thatʼs not everything in the plan if weʼre all here,” the young chef added as she turned to the vice-captain, who didnʼt expect to be the center of attention once more, “Donʼt you want to give something to the Blood Captain too? I think he’s going to be happy to know that you made something for him thatʼs… well… not a custom bullet?”

That would be her first time giving him something that they didnʼt make together. It wasnʼt a bad idea, especially when he had done a lot for her in the past. Moreover, she wouldnʼt be able to have casual conversations normally if it wasnʼt for him trying to reach out to her. It was only right that she did what she could to return the favor.

Imagining the smile on his face as he enjoyed what she made for him always brought a smile to her as well. It was the same case this time as well, but there was also a hint of fear deep within her because she had never cooked specifically for one person before.

“But… I’ve never cooked anything by myself…” the vice-captain responded with a frown. “I donʼt mind learning how to cook, but wouldnʼt it be too much trouble to teach someone who hasnʼt got any prior experience in the kitchen?”

Mutsumi shook her head, “I donʼt mind, but…” Her gaze went over to Alisa and then at Nana, “I kinda need to supervise someone and the ingredients at once too…”

“Oh! I can help!” Kanon enthusiastically raised her hand. “If itʼs Cielʼs intention to repay the Instructorʼs kindness, then I want to help too!”

Ciel looked at the pink-haired God Eater in surprise, “Kanon…”

“Iʼll be the taste tester!” Nana joined in the enthusiasm, getting the groupʼs attention. “Hiro did a lot for all of us in Blood, so he must have the best chocolate!”

“I agree,” Livie nodded in agreement and chuckled as she looked at Nana sitting excitedly next to her. “I will help in any way I can as well and I will make sure that Nana doesnʼt eat most of the chocolate for our captain.”

The scythe wielderʼs comment made the group laugh as the noirette was helplessly trying to deny her obvious intention.

“Okay, letʼs all get moving to the kitchen!” the young chef was the first one to get up from the couch before the others followed suit. “The chocolate isnʼt going to cook itself and we only have today to make some chocolate for our great captain and former captain!”

The group of women started making their way towards the door, with Alisa and Ciel being the last ones to leave.

The vice-captain had to stay behind a little longer just to keep her room back to its former tidy self, even if it didnʼt look too different from before. From her perspective, it was better to come back to the same neat and tidy room every night. It looked better in her eyes and having a tidy room meant that she would have an easier time finding something she needed.

Ciel went out of her room, only to feel someone grabbing her arm. She cautiously turned around, but the sight of the Russian God Eater by her side made her tense shoulder relax once more.

“Just a moment. There’s a good way to eat some Valentineʼs Day chocolate that I found out from the old archives yesterday,” Alisa looked over her shoulder for a moment before gesturing to her to move closer and put her mouth close to the vice-captainʼs ear.

Ciel didnʼt protest as she listened to Alisaʼs suggestion that she whispered to her. Her body froze after hearing what she needed to do and heat started rising to her face. She ignored the possibility that her face was red from embarrassment and Alisa smiled at her before turning to leave.

“Come on! The others are waiting for us!”

The vice-captain stiffly turned around as her gaze followed the Russian God Eater, but her mind was in a too chaotic state to think about heading for the lounge. She wasnʼt sure why she suddenly became a nervous wreck from the suggestion when she was doing it with a good friend, her first and very best friend. Even so, her own thoughts of considering the brunette captain her best friend was becoming more and more questionable when she started feeling different as she thought about him.

The members of Blood were her friends, but she couldnʼt help wondering why she felt something odd and different when she was around him. Alisaʼs suggestion had a deep impact on her state of mind, making her question her own view on the captain.

Was she truly seeing him as a friend as she always claimed? Or was it something else closer… than a best friend…?

* * *

The sweet smell of chocolate filled the lounge, which was only filled with the group of women trying to make some chocolate.

The men who were previously in the room were told to leave by Sakuya before she joined Mutsumi to help Alisa make her own batch of chocolate. Gina was missing from the lounge as she was more interested in the battlefield rather than in the kitchen area. This left Livie to keep Nana away from snacking on the chocolate bars by dragging her out for a different but related mission.

Ciel and Kanon were working on their sets for the Blood Captain on a different side of the lounge, but they could hear the struggles of the young chef as she was trying to keep Alisa from messing up her own batch. The vice-captain looked up as she held a tray of chocolate blocks, catching the sight of the lounge table having messy drops of melted chocolate.

“Y-You’re stirring the chocolate too fast!” Mutsumi held the Russian’s arm to keep the melted chocolate from spilling out of the bowl she was holding. “You’re going to get chocolate everywhere!”

Ciel watched as Alisa ended up spilling almost the entire contents of the bowl, adding more chocolate mess into the table she was working on. She could imagine how much work Mutsumi had to do to clean up after the mess she and Alisa made, but all she could do was to keep herself from making more mess than necessary. Compared to the working table the Russian was using, her side of the table was looking much cleaner from drops of melted chocolate even if it was still messy from the number of tools on it.

“So, are you ready to begin shaping the chocolate blocks?”

Kanon’s voice distracted Ciel from comparing her own progress with Alisa’s as she turned to the pink-haired God Eater. Her gaze soon fell on her hands as Kanon was holding a small knife and a block of chocolate.

“That’s okay if you don’t want to, but wouldn’t custom-shaped chocolate make them look more original?” Kanon asked with a smile before she put her attention back to the chocolate in her hand.

The vice-captain hadn’t thought about making custom shapes for the chocolate but watched as the older God Eater used her agile hands to trim away the solid shape. The pauses Kanon had between her cuts were enough to tell her that she was also experimenting with the resulting shape as she was sculpting it. The cube shape slowly transformed into a rounder one and formed a small heart.

“Oh, that looks very nice,” Ciel smiled at her as she admired Kanon’s work. “Would other shapes work as well?”

The older God Eater responded with a nod, “Yes! It can be any shape you want, but I think you want to stick with the simpler shapes when you’re just starting out. Or, you can try experimenting on making other shapes you’re familiar with.”

Experiment. It was the same thing that came to mind when she was customizing bullets on her off days. She knew that she wasn’t as good as Livie when it was about crafting items, seeing as she had basically spent her entire childhood doing nothing but military training. Her hands weren’t exactly trained for creative work such as sculpting, but her fascination for the end result Kanon showed her held her doubts back.

Just like how she and her captain created their own bullet recipes, she wanted to make something original. She wanted to give him something that was meant for him rather than something that she would give to someone else. He had helped her in many ways than she could count and it was only right that she gave him something special in return.

“Would bullet-shaped chocolate be fine enough?” Ciel asked Kanon, unable to contain her excitement. “Captain and I have been crafting a few original bullets for us to use, so I was wondering if it’s possible to make him some custom bullets from chocolate as well.”

The older God Eater didn’t respond and instead, she gave her an amused look after she told her the idea. The look Kanon was giving her shrunk her intention of giving him something that was inspired by one of the many things which connected them. It wasn’t her field of expertise after all and if it was too difficult to be done in less than a single day, she didn’t have much choice but to go with a different–

“That sounds like… a great idea!” Kanon clasped her hands together with a smile on her face. “Yes! You can go with that shape and I’ll be happy to help!”

Ciel wasn’t sure how to react as Kanon’s excitement surprised her a little after the silent stare she was given. She was at least happy that she didn’t make a bad suggestion, though she wasn’t sure where to start with her sculpting. Moreover, she wasn’t too confident about making the perfect bullet shapes when it was her first time making it.

“Here’s the wrapping cloth for the chocolate.”

A sheet of pink cloth and a red ribbon were laid out on the table right next to the used bowl of chocolate. When the vice-captain looked up, she was greeted by the smiling face of Livie as she stood by her side along with Nana.

“Nana and I managed to find some good materials to make the wrapping cloth,” the scythe wielder cautious eyed Nana as she was drooling over the tray of chocolate and quickly grabbed her arm when she almost took out one of the blocks. “Just a moment, Nana. Have you washed your hands yet?”

The noirette laughed nervously and retracted her hand, “S-Sorry! It looked so good that I couldn’t help it!”

“Is that so?” Ciel gave her a smile as she looked up from her chocolate sculpture. “Perhaps I can spare some for you and other Blood members.”

“Is that okay with you, Ciel?” Livie looked a little surprised at her suggestion. “Aren’t you going to make the chocolate for our captain?”

The vice-captain gave her a nod, “Yes. I am indebted to him for all the things he did for me, but I feel the need to express my gratitude to the entire Blood members as well.”

“I see…” the scythe wielder gave her a nod and a smile. “I’ll be looking forward to giving them a taste once you’re done.”

Livie and Nana left her side to go over to Alisa’s, which was looking messier and messier by the second. She was given the same sheet of cloth to wrap her own homemade chocolate, but the vice-captain noticed that there was a small blank note hidden beneath the cloth given to her. As she was about to get up from her seat to return the extra blank note, she was stopped when Kanon started speaking.

“Gratitude, huh…” the pink-haired God Eater placed her own heart-shaped chocolate on a separate plate with her eyes looking everywhere but the chocolate. “Maybe I should give some chocolate to Instructor too after he helped me improve…”

Ciel looked at Kanon as she took another block of chocolate to sculpt as she had a smile on her face. She knew that Hiro had helped a lot of people, including her and Kanon, and assuming that the people he helped would give him chocolate, that would mean he would get a lot of them. Would the chocolate she gave him had any meaning to him when he most likely would probably lose track of the senders?

“I hope you don’t have the wrong idea, okay?” Kanon smiled sadly at her. “I mean, he is a good friend and instructor, but I won’t get between you and him.”

The vice-captain looked at her in confusion. She didn’t mind having Kanon as a close friend along with Hiro, so she wasn’t sure why she mentioned getting between her and the captain. Was there something else that she missed in Kanon’s words?

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t think I understand what you said…” the vice-captain responded in a nervous whisper. “Or… did you mean that it isn’t possible to have more than one best friend?”

It was Kanon’s turn to look puzzled, “Huh? I heard from your team that you and Instructor are more than just friends… Isn’t that the main reason why you want to make some for him? Because you love him?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Ciel never learned the concept of love for most of her life and only regarded it to be unimportant. Her curiosity had her open the older archives about relationships, but the information only brought up more confusion to her. She had believed that she saw her captain as her best friend because she felt closest to him in Blood. On the other hand, what was written in the archive as signs of a budding romance had accurately described what she had been feeling when she was around him.

Did she truly love him? Perhaps, but she was starting to become afraid of how it would affect their ongoing friendship.

“You two should sit down and talk,” Kanon spoke up once more, snapping the vice-captain from her thoughts. “Maybe Valentine’s Day can be a good day to have a heart-to-heart talk with him or maybe…” she stopped for a moment and took the blank note from Ciel’s hand. “Wait, wait! You can write a message for him with this! Just write down how you feel about him on this note!”

Ciel felt that Kanon looked almost like she was desperately trying to do something as the note was shoved back into her hands. She only gave her a quiet nod before she switched her attention back to the tray of chocolate and the single chocolate bullet on the plate. When she looked back at Kanon, the older God Eater had busied herself with her own heart-shaped chocolate and left her to sculpt the rest of her share on her own.

She didn’t really mind though, as the crafting wasn’t as hard as she imagined it to be. She only needed to work on the rest quickly enough so that they wouldn’t melt.

* * *

“It’s… I’m finished!”

Ciel couldn’t contain the smile on her face as she admired the bullet-shaped chocolate lined up on the plate. She had made them have the size a little bigger than an actual bullet, but not too big for easier consumption.

“Wow! They look great!” Kanon commented with an excited tone. “Instructor is going to love them!”

The vice-captain was still smiling as she carefully set them on the cloth to wrap them, “I truly hope so…”

She secured the chocolate bullet within the cloth using the red ribbon, setting it in the middle of the table filled with empty bowls and plates.

The sunlight she recalled seeing when she first started mixing the chocolate mixture was already gone, replaced by the moonlight and stars outside. Sculpting a single bullet didn’t take too much time, but there was a lot to be done that she ended up spending the entire day finishing her craft. She could feel her sore muscles as she had been sitting pretty much the whole day, but there was still something else left to be done.

The vice-captain’s gaze landed on the blank pink note sitting next to the bag of chocolate she spent the day preparing. She still hadn’t written anything on it, especially when most of her time was spent on the chocolate’s details. There were a few hours left in the day for her to write something, but she didn’t have any ideas on what she should write in it.

Ciel wanted to ask Kanon for some advice, but the older God Eater had already finished her own batch hours previously. When she turned to Alisa’s side, she could see that the Russian had just finished wrapping her own batch of chocolate with the very tired-looking Sakuya slumping on the chair.

The vice-captain assumed that Alisa had more experience with making gifts for Valentine’s Day, judging from how she could explain the event in detail when they had the discussion earlier that day. Getting some advice from her would be the best bet, but her intentions were interrupted when Mutsumi burst into the lounge loudly.

“The boys are back from their mission!” The young chef didn’t have the chance to catch her breath and saw that the lounge was still filled with chocolate mess. “Everyone! Hide your chocolate bags in the fridge under the bar and get out of here!”

The only thing that crossed Ciel’s mind was that her gift wasn’t ready to be presented yet.

She took the blank note and her bag of chocolates before rushing towards the bar as Alisa did the same. The two of them popped their creations into the cold-storage box without a second thought, but the vice-captain took the time to stop by the door where Mutsumi was.

“I haven’t cleaned the table yet,” Ciel told the young chef as her gaze was directed at the table she used. “Should I stay here and help you clean the lounge?”

Mutsumi quickly shook her head, “No, it’s fine! I have a few helping hands, so don’t worry about it and make sure that you don’t look too suspicious when you see Captain, okay?”

“Y-Yes…” Ciel was a little surprised to hear the young chef’s tone, which was a little sterner than usual.

As Mutsumi gestured for her to leave, the vice-captain responded with a silent nod before finally leaving the lounge after spending hours in it. It was probably her longest record of being in the lounge which didn’t involve taking care of Cappy, but she felt that she was still there for a good reason. Still, there was some unfinished business left and she had to see Alisa for some good suggestions.

Ciel heard the Russian’s laugh coming nearby and saw that she was talking with Fran and Hibari before they all headed into the elevator. She missed her chance to ask her for some input and let out a sigh as she stared at the blank note with a frown on her face. She had to think about something nice to write for him at least; she wasn’t planning on leaving the note blank before giving it to him.

“That’s a pretty good idea, Gil. I think some good upgrades will lessen the strain when using the hoe.”

The vice-captain instinctively turned away the moment she heard a familiar voice nearby. As the sound of footsteps was getting closer and closer, she took a quick glance to see the captain talking with Gil as they were heading for the lounge. They could clearly see her standing by the lounge door, but the two Blood members seemed to have been engrossed in their discussion that they didn’t notice her standing there as they went in.

Being not a very good liar anymore meant that she could easily spoil the surprise by just meeting him. It was for the best that she didn’t see him until the next day.

Ciel quickly made her way into the elevator and pressed the button to reach the floor where the Blood dorms were located. The area was still quiet as the others were most likely out of their rooms and she could reach her room without seeing anyone else.

The vice-captain locked the door once she got in and turned on the lights before heading straight for her desk. She put the note on the desk before sitting down with a long sigh as her mind was completely blank about what she was supposed to write.

It was easier if it was a report that she was writing, but she wouldn’t make it awkward for him by writing in the form of a regular report.

* * *

How many hours had passed already? She wasn’t completely sure.

The pink note was still clean of any sort of writings as the vice-captain let out a tired sigh.

Her long silver hair was left untied as she was wearing her sleepwear, fighting off the exhaustion of her body as her brain was still trying to think of some good words to write. She folded her arms and let her chin rest on them before she turned to the side to see a pile of paper balls of her failed attempts. She had lost count on how many pages she had torn out from her notebook to write a draft for the message, but she hadn’t written anything that she felt satisfying.

“ _Just write down how you feel about him on this note!”_

What did she feel about him? She wasn’t sure if she considered him to be a friend anymore. They looked after each other like friends usually would, but she felt something different when she looked at him in the eyes. She was happy to have his presence around and she didn’t mind if they weren’t always together for the same mission, but she would feel that something was missing when he wasn’t around.

He made her feel like she was herself when she was with him. He was the one who gave her the chance to experience many first things in life that she never got to experience as a child. He allowed her to explore the things she wanted without a single word of complaint from him. He had saved her life and gave it more color from the new experiences she never had in her military training.

He had become the first in various things in her life. He had become the first person to risk everything just for her. He had become her first friend and best friend. And perhaps, he had become her first love as well.

The thoughts of their time together were mostly filled with warmth that she never had in her life. She was happy to be around him and she found that she could smile more around him. He had changed her in a good way and she was grateful for it. Her gratitude had grown more and more as she spent more time with him, blossoming into a desire to stay by his side and a certain… fondness… towards him.

Her cold and empty heart had long melted and he was the one to fill it. She couldn’t get him out of her mind countless times. She felt lonely even if she was with other God Eaters when he wasn’t around. She had the urge to run and hug him whenever she saw him return from a mission which she had to hold back countless times. Her mind would be all over the place when he was involved and those facts finally made her understand what she had been feeling.

She was in love with him.

Ciel could feel her heart beating faster and her breathing becoming shorter but faster after the revelation. The answer to her own doubts gave her the words she wanted to convey as she picked up the pen confidently.

As the night was slowly ending, the vice-captain put the words into the previously-blank note.

* * *

It was the morning of Valentine’s Day.

The residents of the Far East Branch and people from nearby satellite bases had gathered to enjoy the celebration. Chocolates were being handed out by the female operators to arriving guests, residents, and even God Eaters who were leaving for their mission. Couples were seen spending their time together, but there were also families of God Eaters who took some time off for some family time.

“Huh? The captain’s out?”

Lindow raised a brow as he looked at Hibari, who typed a few things on her computer before looking up with a smile, “Yes. The entire Blood Unit is on their day off and they are currently giving Yuu and Alisa a tour around the Sacred Ground.”

“Huh,” the older God Eater shrugged before he knelt down and picked up a toddler with the same hair as he had. “Sorry, Ren. I guess you won’t get the chance to play with the captain for a bit.”

“But I wanna play!” the toddler whined and pouted. “I wanna play with Captain, Daddy!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll play with him later,” Lindow smiled at his son before ruffling his hair. “Let’s just head to the lounge and see what your mom is making today.”

Ren’s mood lifted almost immediately and nodded frantically, “Eat, eat! I wanna eat Mommy’s food!”

“Okay, okay!” Lindow patted his son on the head before waving at the operator. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around, Hibari!”

The older God Eater headed for the lounge, where most people were gathered. It wasn’t an official holiday, but the branch residents decided to throw a small party and invited Yuno to sing for them as well. The food served was mostly pastries and various chocolate dishes, which caused the lounge to smell like chocolate the moment he stepped into the room.

There was one celebration in the branch, but a certain unit decided to spend their day off outside the branch.

* * *

“Thish ish so goodh!”

The scene of Nana stuffing her mouth with chocolates brought chuckles to the people sitting by the table outside the cabin.

The entire Blood Unit was present along with Alisa and Yuu, who wasn’t on a mission for Cradle. Ciel had handed out her extras to the Blood Unit as promised, with the captain being excluded from the extra batch. He was looking at her with expectant eyes as the vice-captain tried hiding the chocolates for a better time and the captain’s child-like curiosity only brought more chuckles to the table.

Alisa was watching the scene from the end of the table along with Yuu by her side. She glanced to his side and saw that the bag of chocolates she gave him was still left untouched. The sight made her frown as she wanted to know if her cooking had improved even if it was just a little bit to make some edible chocolates.

As if he knew what she was thinking, the Russian saw his hands moving and opened the bag.

“Wow… These are… pretty unique…” Yuu let out an awkward smile, but that was enough for Alisa to consider it as a compliment.

The light brunette took out a handful of them and cautiously put one into his mouth. Alisa looked at him expectantly as he did so, while Yuu shut his eyes and looked like he was trying to brace himself for something that tasted not like it was supposed to.

“S-So? How is it?” she asked impatiently. “Is it good? Or is it too sweet?”

Yuu’s eyes shot open in surprise before he slowly raised a brow, “This is actually pretty good…”

A smile formed on Alisa’s lips as she felt relieved that her chocolate turned out to be fine after all that chaos that she chose not to remember, “R-Really?”

“Yeah,” Yuu nodded in response as he ate another one from his hand before looking at the rest of the chocolates in his hand. “I can tell that you put a lot of work into this. Maybe it’s a little too sweet for me, but the bullet shapes you made look pretty cool.”

“Bullet… shapes…?”

Alisa looked as puzzled as Yuu was, especially when she didn’t recall making any bullet-shaped chocolates. She had messed with the mixture portions too often that she didn’t have the time to sculpt anything and ended up using a premade mold instead. She did remember that Kanon mentioned something about Ciel sculpting the entire tray of chocolate into bullet shapes.

Would that mean–

A loud thud shook the table they were sitting on, snapping the Russian from her thoughts.

Alisa looked to the other side of the table where the Blood members were sitting and found the captain already face down on the table. Ciel was in a panic as she tried waking him up and the movement caused the other bag of chocolates to topple over to the side and revealed its contents.

They were heart-shaped chocolates and they were ones she remembered making. The identical-looking bags had caused their chocolates to be switched, which meant that Yuu had eaten the sweet ones Ciel had made while the captain had the unfortunate event of eating her deadly chocolates.

Before Alisa could mention the mix-up, the whole unit had already left to bring their captain into the cabin. Realizing that things could go downhill fast, explaining what happened would be the best and only option she had for the time being.

“Alisa?” Yuu’s voice caught her attention as he looked like he had drawn the same conclusion. “D-Don’t tell me…”

The Russian curled her hands for a moment before letting them relax once more as she let out a sigh, “I-I think the chocolates got swapped with the ones Ciel made…”

“I figured…” the light brunette absentmindedly commented before letting out a sigh. “I mean… well… you know that I don’t like sweets that much and you’ll try to make the chocolates _not_ sweet somehow…”

“Y-Yeah, I know that!” Alisa responded in an irritated tone. “Let’s just clear this misunderstanding already!”

The Russian took the leftover chocolate bag with her and stomped her way towards the cabin to throw it away, but suddenly realized that there was a note attached to the back of the bag. The contents of the note were hidden as it was folded neatly and she didn’t plan on sticking her nose into something that could have been a personal message. Still, the good condition of the note only meant that the message hadn’t even been delivered yet.

Alisa looked back at Yuu, who had already approached her with the other bag of chocolate in his hand, “We have to return these to them. As good as these are, they aren’t made for me.”

She looked down at his hand as the light brunette handed her the chocolates. She gave him a silent nod as she felt a mix of heartbreak from Yuu’s indirect bluntness and guilt from making something so deadly and inedible that she caused someone to faint. It wasn’t the first time that her cooking caused someone to faint, but she kind of wished that she would at least have an improvement on her skills in the kitchen.

Alisa felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Yuu’s smiling face, “Don’t worry about it. I know that you can be a better cook if you keep trying. Isn’t that a fact that Cradle is improving other people’s quality of life because you kept on trying to gain people’s trust?”

He wasn’t completely wrong and it felt comforting to know that he could see through her troubles before saying things that she needed to hear.

“Yeah… that’s true… I guess…” the Russian responded in a whisper as she turned away from him, unable to contain the smile on her face. “Thanks…”

* * *

The Blood members, except for Livie, were sitting anxiously in the cabin’s living room area. Ciel was sitting farther from the others while being quiet the entire time, which was slowly getting her teammates’ attention. When the door leading to his bedroom opened, the vice-captain stood up with a worried look on her face as she faced the scythe wielder.

“H-How is he?” Ciel asked nervously. “Is he going to be fine?”

Livie gave her a nod, “He’s already awake and he is going to be fine. It seems like he had too much salt in his system along with other… unknown substances… and he will need to rest for at least a day until his numbness goes away.”

“Thank goodness…” Ciel let out a relieved sigh, but her face still showed a hint of guilt which was clearly noticeable to the rest of the team. “I… I’m sorry, but I need to excuse myself for a moment.”

The group watched as the vice-captain walked away from the living room and left the cabin.

The team’s attention went back from the door and towards the scythe wielder as Gil let out a chuckle, “Salty chocolates, huh? I wouldn’t be surprised if Nana or Romeo was the one making them, but it’s kinda hard to believe that it was Ciel who made them.”

“Hey!” Romeo glared at the dark brunette. “Why don’t _you_ try making some yourself? I bet it’s going to kill an Aragami on the first bite!”

Gil growled in response and looked away, not bothering to talk back to the blond. Julius let out a sigh before he looked at the door where Hiro was resting, “We can talk to her about it later. We should check on the captain for the time being and see if there’s anything we can do to help him.”

“Okay!” Nana’s enthusiastic response prompted the group to move and squeezed their way into the small room.

Hiro was lying on the only bed in the room as he was looking outside through the window, before noticing that his team came into the room.

“Hey guys!” the captain raised his hand for a wave. “Sorry to scare you guys like that! It’s just that the chocolate felt more like a lump of salt that I couldn’t take it anymore!”

“Yeah, I can imagine that already,” Gil commented and laughed before putting his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “So, anything you want us to grab for you? I can draw some fresh water from the well if you want.”

Hiro looked at him for a moment before his eyes scanned his teammates present in the room, noticing that there was one missing, “Just one thing, though. Where’s Ciel?”

Livie looked back at the entrance of the room and to the direction leading out of the cabin for a moment and turned back to him, “Well, she went outside while looking a little sad. I think she felt really guilty that her homemade chocolate got you into this unwanted position.”

“Oh…” the captain responded with a slight disappointment in his voice. “I… guess I’ll talk to her later…?”

“Excuse me.”

The group’s attention turned to the door to see Alisa walking into the room with a piece of paper in her hand. They looked puzzled to see her inside without Yuu next to her, but they were even more confused when she suddenly bowed down to the captain.

“I’m really sorry for what happened,” Alisa told the captain with a look of guilt on her face. “The chocolates that you ate were actually… made by me…”

The brunette raised a brow as he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond. The boys from his team were already aware of how much of a bad cook Alisa was that they weren’t surprised to know that she was the one who made the edible chocolates. Knowing the Russian God Eater, he was sure that she wasn’t doing it on purpose as well.

“The bags got mixed up when we took them out from the fridge this morning, so…” Alisa bowed down apologetically once more. “I’m really sorry!”

The Blood members stayed quiet, unable to give her any meaningful response. The Russian slowly stood up and walked over to the bed, handing Hiro the note she had been holding.

“Here. This note is attached to the bag and I think it’s a message from Ciel herself for you, Captain,” Alisa gave him one last apologetic bow before she left the room awkwardly.

“Well, at least now we know that it wasn’t Ciel’s fault, right?” Nana asked the others, only to end up getting the silent treatment from the group.

Hiro looked at Nana with an awkward nod before shifting his attention to the note in his hand. He unfolded it to reveal the familiar neat handwriting belonging to the vice-captain.

“ _I was initially uncertain with what I truly felt, but I tell you with confidence that I feel the happiest with you and I can be myself more when I am with you. Please, let me stay by your side forever.”_

The captain looked up and expected to see his teammates staring at his possibly blushing face, but they were looking everywhere except at him. He wasn’t sure if they knew something and they did it on purpose, but he didn’t get his chance to ask them as Julius had cut him off before he could even start.

“Please get some rest, Captain,” the former captain told him before he turned away to head for the door. “Everyone, let’s go back to giving Yuu and Alisa a tour around the area.”

Hiro was left puzzled as his friends left him without another word and with no chance for him to ask questions. He let out a sigh as he threw himself back to the pillow behind him before putting the note above his head.

No matter how many times he read the note, the way the message was worded felt more like a confession rather than a simple message. He knew that Ciel was still having trouble expressing her true feelings, even if she was slowly getting better at it. There was no way of knowing the true meaning behind the written words until he spoke to her directly and he wasn’t even sure where she would be at that time.

* * *

It was a beautiful view and it was the only place such a view could be seen in the entire Far East.

The look of nature she had always seen through the archives had never ceased to amaze Ciel as she stood by the green fields. She could feel the cool wind blowing on her face and the air around the area was very fresh, which was a contrast to the abandoned areas she had been for her missions. The rustling sounds made by the family of capybaras she helped to raise as they ran around the fields brought a smile to her face as she enjoyed the momentary peace she needed.

The vice-captain wasn’t completely sure what went wrong with the chocolates she made for him. She didn’t get the chance to taste what she had made, but she had got some positive input from the others. The ingredients used were fresh because it was Mutsumi who prepared them and she trusted the young chef not to make any mistakes with the measurements.

If it wasn’t Mutsumi’s fault, then did something happen while she wasn’t looking? Or was the table she used contaminated with unknown pathogens? She was sure that she had cleaned her working area and all of the utensils before preparing those chocolates to maintain the hygiene of the food. She had thought of all the possible scenarios of things going wrong during the process and she had done all the preventive measures needed.

Ciel let out a sigh as she couldn’t think of anything that could have gone wrong. All she wanted was to give the captain she made by herself, but some unknown factor had destroyed it. Apologizing would be the best thing she could do at that point, but she didn’t think that she could face him when her cooking apparently almost took his life. Or so she assumed.

She turned around and forced herself to get to the cabin to apologize, but was surprised to see that she wasn’t on her own.

“Ah! Ciel… isn’t it?” The light brunette gave her a smile as he held up a familiar bag of chocolate. “I’m here to return these.”

The vice-captain looked puzzled as she took the chocolates from his hand. “Um… wouldn’t this be…”

“Chocolates from Alisa?” Yuu gave her a shrug. “Well, not exactly…”

Ciel was even more confused by the Cradle member’s gesture, which prompted her to open the bag slightly. She was surprised to see the chocolate bullets she made before, but from the person who wasn’t supposed to receive them. When she looked up at him, the light brunette had already guessed what she was thinking already.

“Alisa told me that the chocolates got swapped somehow, so I ended up getting the ones you made,” Yuu rubbed the back of his head and laughed. “I’ve tried some before I noticed something was wrong and it’s kinda too sweet for me. Still, I’m pretty sure your captain will like it better when he knows how much work put into those neat little chocolate bullets.”

It wasn’t that she made something that was completely inedible. The bags only got mixed up with the one containing Alisa’s chocolates!

The realization put her mind at ease before she gave him a quick bow, “Thank you very much for returning them!”

“Sure, no problem,” the light brunette pointed at the cabin behind him. “He should still be in the cabin right now, so I suggest you go and see him.”

“Y-Yes!”

Ciel gave him another bow before she rushed towards the cabin, ignoring the rest of her teammates as they were working on the other side of the field. Her feet took her directly to the door of his bedroom, which was left open slightly. She looked back at the bag of chocolates in her hands hesitantly and thought of the possible misunderstanding between them after what happened with the previous chocolate batch.

“Ciel, is that you?” The vice-captain could hear her captain’s voice from the other side of the door and his face was partially visible from the spot she was standing. “I can’t fall asleep at this hour, so don’t worry and come in.”

Ciel took a deep breath before she pushed the wooden door open, accidentally making direct eye contact with him as Hiro gave her a smile. She quietly made her way to his side and sat on the side of the bed, seeing as there weren’t any chairs in the small bedroom. Her eyes were fixed on the bag of chocolates in her hand without saying a word, but the captain was the one to break the silence in the room.

“I heard from Alisa that the chocolates got mixed up,” Hiro turned to her with a smile. “That’s kinda expected actually. I can’t really imagine you to be the one who would make me something like… that…”

His smile made her feel slightly better about herself, but that also meant that he hadn’t tasted her own creation. The vice-captain lowered her head as she offered the bag of chocolates in her hand, “I-I made these… for you…”

There was a moment of silence before she felt his hand on top of hers as he took the chocolates. When she tried stealing a glance on his face, the captain had a child-like grin on his face as he opened the bag.

“Hey, chocolate bullets! It’s really easy to tell that you’re the one who made this!” Hiro’s eyes were directed at her for a moment and his smiling face was enough to make her heart start racing. “Thanks, Ciel. You don’t really have to go through all the trouble to make them for me, but I’ll gladly take them anyway.”

The vice-captain only responded with a nervous smile and a silent nod as he took the first bite, while her mind wandered into the suggestion Alisa had given her the day before. Thinking about it was making her even more nervous and the fact that they were alone in the room wasn’t helping her case. She tried calming herself down by putting her hands on her chest as she attempted to control her breathing, but she knew that none of them were working.

She had to admit that one part of her wanted to do it, but another part of her was too shy to be so forward with him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

The bed was moving slightly as Hiro had moved slightly to try and look at her worriedly. Ciel shook her head, but she was still determined to give the suggestion a shot.

“I-It’s nothing… Although…” The vice-captain nervously eyed the chocolate bag he was holding before she held the bag as well while sliding herself closer to him. “I was told… that there was one method of enjoying some chocolates together… A-And I want to enjoy them with you…”

She could see the captain raising a brow before she took out one of the chocolate and put it between her lips. She nervously leaned closer and closed her eyes before she could feel that her lips touched his. She bit and swallowed half of the chocolate she had before slowly backing away from him. She could assume that her face was redder than the captain’s, prompting her to try and look away.

Things didn’t go as she planned, however, as a hand grabbed the side of her face and prevented her from looking away.

She was once again met with her captain’s cerulean eyes as he was looking at her with a gentle gaze. His surprised look was replaced with what felt to her to be a loving gaze as the trace of his blushing face was still visible. The gesture made her subconsciously hold his hand in return as she drew herself closer to him.

Their lips met once more, spreading the sweet taste of chocolate in their mouths as their lips danced around.

Ciel hadn’t expected him to initiate the kiss, but she could feel herself melting as she felt his warmth when he pulled her closer. Words couldn’t truly describe the state of her mind at that point, she could feel his loving and protective embrace around her. It was the most blissful moment she could ever ask for and it convinced her further about her true feelings for him.

She loved him. She was in love with her captain. He was her first love and she was happy that he was the first person she fell in love with.

She wished that the moment could last longer, but his lips had left hers and she was met with his sad eyes as his hand gently caressed her cheek.

“I love you, Ciel…” Hiro confessed in a whisper. “I’ve felt like this for months already, but I decided not to say anything while you’re trying to learn more about being with other people and making friends. I don’t want to rush you into a relationship when you’re not ready for one.”

The vice-captain stared into his eyes, which held the truth in his words. He was being considerate for her all this time, leading her to experience many things in life that she had been missing out on. She believed that such kindness made her fondness of him grow more and more until she realized that the term friendship she had been telling everyone felt more like attraction.

Ciel would be very embarrassed when she found out that she was a few inches away from lying on top of him, but the only ones who could see their position were just the two of them. She might not have been the best one to keep a secret anymore when she was starting to be more open with her emotions, but she knew that the captain wasn’t the type of person to reveal personal secrets.

At least, not when he wasn’t trying to tease her.

“S-Sorry, I… I got carried away…” the captain let out a sigh before leaning back on his pillow. “I guess I should’ve asked about your thoughts first before I… well… you know…”

Ciel watched with a smile as Hiro was trying to avoid the word ‘kiss’ and it was the first time she saw him looking so embarrassed. She wanted to talk more about the newfound feelings she had for him, but the lack of sleep from the night before was starting to take its toll. She stayed up at night to think of something nice to write on the note, which she noticed to be missing, but she felt that it didn’t matter anymore.

She lied down on the bed beside him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before making herself comfortable by hugging his arm, “I don’t mind at all. I’m happy to explore this new kind of relationship with you.”

Hiro smiled at her before putting the bag of chocolates on the bedside table and put his free arm around her, “Are you tired? You look like you can fall asleep standing up.”

“I am,” the vice-captain responded and hid a yawn before closing her eyes with a contented smile. “I hope you don’t mind if I sleep here with you.”

“Nah, I’m fine with it.”

* * *

The sight of the two team leaders cuddling each other in their sleep brought a smile to the Russian God Eater before she lowered her binoculars.

“Hey, it’s not very nice to peek into someone else’s room.”

She looked up to see her former captain’s face as he was smiling at her.

“I guess this is the kind of mission that you were talking about yesterday, right?” Yuu made his way to sit on the ground next to her. “You were planning on getting the two of them together?”

“Exactly,” Alisa responded with a satisfied nod. “They told everyone that they were just friends or just best friends, but we could tell that there was something more than ‘just friends’ between them.”

The light brunette let out a sigh and chuckled, “I’m not really a big fan of getting into someone else’s business, but I guess everything turned out to be fine in the end.”

“In a way, I guess…” Alisa responded hesitantly as she recalled how her homemade chocolate was still inedible.

“Two more things, Alisa,” The Russian turned to him as she noticed the slight change of his tone. “Hibari contacted me just now and she told me that Mutsumi wanted to ask you to replace the new pack of table salt you used up yesterday.”

She laughed nervously as Yuu had a teasing smile on his face, “A-And the other one is…?”

“Mutsumi mentioned that you can’t cover the chocolate’s sweetness by putting in a whole pack of salt in it.”

Alisa let out a sigh, which brought chuckles to the young man sitting next to her.

“Okay, okay… I’ll try it differently next time…”

**Author's Note:**

> And that's it for the Valentine's Day special! The time constraint kinda affected the writing at some point, but I'm more or less satisfied with how it turns out in the end. Well, I guess I'll be satisfied as long as I'm writing about my favorite pair because the lack of such content pretty much everywhere...
> 
> I was originally planning to stop the story when Hiro passed out after eating Alisa's deadly and salty chocolate, but I decided to make it even longer after finding a rare fanart about them in Pixiv. The chocolate 'feeding' scene was inspired by that art and that was basically the second big idea I had for this story. And the title pretty much sums up the conditions of the chocolates made by the two main heroines and as for Alisa's cooking, the manga mentioned that her cooking could knock Yuu out cold for at least half a day (don't remember if it's half or the entire day).
> 
> Before I end the note here, I plan on writing for the White Day next month and it'll most likely be about the GE3 characters. I'm still not sure if I'll reference the older characters from the previous two games, but one thing I can be certain of is the involvement of Phym because she's the adorable daughter. Yes, she will be a part of the 'scheme' in a way.


End file.
